117 Polaroids

More about the book

David Bailey's loving homage to his wife, in Polaroids taken over nearly 40 years For the past 38 years, David Bailey (born 1938) has photographed his wife Catherine using Polaroid film. Developing organically over the decades, a book grew with no specific purpose in mind. The result is this visual poem, a witness to their working collaborations and personal adventures. In Bailey's words: "The years went by with great ease and charm. I have been lucky to have such a willing and beautiful subject in my wife and partner in this adventure we have shared together. It came about not by making a plan. All my good ideas seem to happen by accident. My books start with a vague idea, then grow into something I never knew ... the average Polaroid takes a few minutes to develop. This book has taken nearly 40 years."